Have your say on the borough’s food waste collections

Residents are being asked their views on the council’s food waste collections in a bid to improve the borough’s recycling performance even further. 

A new public consultation aims to find out how residents dispose of their food waste and why they might not be using their brown food and garden waste bins.

At least 25 per cent of waste collected from all household bins across the borough is unused or leftover food. Yet since 2015, the majority of Rochdale residents have been able to recycle their food waste weekly by presenting their brown bin or street caddy for collection.

Food waste is heavy and the council says that it costs a third more to collect in the dark green general waste bin than it does to recycle in a brown bin. It’s also better for the environment to recycle food and garden waste as it is turned into compost.

 

 

Recent analysis states that around 20 per cent of rubbish collected in Rochdale’s dark green bins is food waste. On top of this, only 40 per cent of households in the borough present their brown food and garden waste bins for collection.

According to Love Food Hate Waste, a charity who aim to raise awareness of the need to reduce food waste, we throw away the equivalent of one in every five bags of food shopping purchased. That’s nearly seven million tonnes of food wasted in UK households every year, costing the average family an extra £70 a month.  

Whether it’s limp leaves, mouldy tomatoes or the tough stalks of broccoli lurking at the bottom of the fridge – they can all be recycled.

Rochdale residents can recycle any cooked or uncooked food waste, including leftovers straight from the plate, in their brown food and garden waste bin. That includes meat and fish bones, tea bags and date seeds. Along with food waste, weeds, hedge trimmings and grass cuttings are all mixed together to create quality compost.

Councillor Neil Emmott, cabinet member for environment, said: “I’d like to thank everyone across the borough who is playing a huge part in our recycling success.

"In 2015 we had the lowest recycling rate in Greater Manchester. Less than four years later we’ve jumped from a kerbside recycling rate of 37 per cent to over 50 per cent.

"But, there’s always more that we can do and putting all of our food waste in the brown bin really does make a difference.

"This survey is about hearing from residents on how they deal with their food waste so that we can make improvements and are in a better position to provide the information they need. I would encourage as many people as possible to complete it."

• www.consultations.rochdale.gov.uk/council-wide/recycling-your-food-waste/

The consultation will close on 16 July at 5pm.